SPARTA, Ky. — It was just one race, but Sunday’s Sprint Cup event made it seem that daytime is the right time for racing at Kentucky Speedway.

The first two Sprint Cup races at the 1.5-mile track were held on Saturday night, but this year’s race was rained out on Saturday, forcing NASCAR to run it at noon on Sunday.

As a result, fans were treated to a slick racetrack for an afternoon race. The aging surface and NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car — along with the sun — contributed to an entertaining race by Kentucky standards.

But before fans get their hopes up, don’t expect Kentucky Speedway officials to start asking for a Sunday afternoon date just because this year’s postponed event turned into a delightful afternoon.

“In the past, we have done Sunday day races when we had the IndyCar Series here and our fans begged us to go at night and use the lights because summertime in Kentucky is usually hot and humid,” Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger said.

“The neat thing about Kentucky Speedway is when the sun sets, it sets behind the grandstands so all the seats are in the shade even though we have a long daylight period. … There’s no comparison. It was hot and slick last year. It was 105 degrees when we started the race.”

That’s the right call for Kentucky fans, but it sure was intriguing Sunday as drivers had cars set up for a night race and had to race them during the day.

Granted with temperatures in the 70s, it was more like the early evening in the summer at Kentucky. Last year, the temperature was higher for the night race.

“I prefer racing during the day at tracks like this because guys have to move around a little bit when the track gets slick,” crew chief Chad Knaus said.

Matt Kenseth, who won the race, said he wasn’t sure how his car would have run if the race had gone green Saturday night.

“I have no idea what our car would have drove like last night, if it would have been different or not,” Kenseth said. “I don't really have enough time here.

“The race today was really enjoyable. It was really slick, bumpy, it was a little slower than it would be at night, and in my mind that creates more passing and more side-to-side racing and more options for different lanes you can run.”

Kyle Busch didn’t have as much fun as Kenseth but he did see the day race as a challenge.

“(It) threw me for a huge loop because anytime I got cloud cover I could pick up three-tenths of a second,” Busch said. “It was stupid the amount of time I could pick up and then I go down into the next corner and the sun is back so you know you have to back the corner up, and as soon as you do then you're just wrecking loose.

“Really, really edgy to drive out there today and challenging.”

Logano jumps into top 10

Joey Logano, who finished fourth, posted his fifth top-10 finish in his last six races to jump four spots in the standings to 10th.

“I felt like we were good enough to win for a little bit," Logano said. "I thought we were as good as the 20 (Kenseth) or even better."

He doesn’t have much of a cushion on 11th — just one point over Kasey Kahne.

No wide-open coverage for TNT

TNT will not have its traditional split-screen coverage for the Cup race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

In the past, the TNT coverage has featured advertisements on half the screen during all national breaks, allowing the network to miss very few green-flag laps.

But TNT won’t be doing that this year. Instead, it will have only the final 30 laps of the 160-lap race commercial free.

“Turner Sports continues to evolve the Wide Open model we introduced in 2007,” the network said in a statement. “For this year’s (Daytona race), TNT will present the final 30 laps without commercial interruption courtesy of sponsors Coke Zero and Sprint. This approach ensures our viewers will continue to see all the action at the pinnacle moment of the race.”

Pit Stops

Kurt Busch will do double-duty this weekend as he defends his Nationwide Series victory at Daytona from a year ago. He’ll be driving for the same team — his former Cup team, Phoenix Racing. … Travis Kvapil has a new crew chief in former Rusty Wallace Racing crew chief Dale Ferguson. Mike Ford, the interim crew chief, will resume is role as competition director at BK Racing.